WATZNAUERIA MANIVITAE BUKRYTAXONOMIC PROBLEMS AND DISTRIBUTION IN
THE JURASSIC-LOWER CRETACEOUS SEDIMENTS OF ISRAEL AND OTHER TETHYAN AREAS.
By
Shimon Moshkovitz and Aline Ehrlich
Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem.
Introduction
Investigators working on the calcareous nannofossil assemblages ofthe Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sediments of various parts of theTethyan Province have long noted the presence, sometimes in high amounts,of large, subelliptical to subcircular coccoliths (France- Manivit, 1966;
the Atlantic Ocean- Worsley, 1971; Roth, 1983; Israel - Moshkovitz andEhrlich, 1976; 1981; the Pacific Ocean- Bukry, 1973; Indian Ocean
Bukry, 1974; Proto Decima, 1974).
byvarious authors to
These large coccoliths were assigned
Coccolithus deflandrei Manivit, Cyclagelosphaera deflandrei (Manivit)
Roth or to Watznaueria manivitae Bukry.
It is the purpose of this short note to elucidate the taxonomic
confusion concerning these distinctive forms and summarize information on
their stratigraphical distribution in Israel and other parts of the world,
especially in the Tethyan Province.
Taxonomy
Watznaueria manivitae Bukry 1973
Pl. 1, Figs. 1-11
(Neotype Figs. 1-3)
1971 Coccolithus deflandrei Manivit- Worsley, Pl. 2, Figs. 37-39.
1973 Cyclagelosphaera deflandrei (Manivit) - Roth, p. 273 (partim), Pl.
27, Fig. 6 (non Pl. 26, Fig. 7).
1973 Watznaueria manivitae Bukry - p. 877.
1974 Watznaueria manivitae Bukry- Proto Decima, p. 595, Pl. 9, Fig. 1.
1976 Cyclagelosphaera deflandrei (Manivit) - Thierstein, Pl. 2, Figs.
20-21.
1976 Watznaueria sp. - Moshkovitz and Ehrlich, Pl. 6, Figs. 6-7.
1981 Watznaueria manivitae Bukry- Moshkovitz and Ehrlich, Pl. 1, Figs.
1-3.
1983 Cyclagelosphaera deflandrei
Roth, Pl. 2, Figs. 1-2cuvillieri)
Description: large subelliptical to subcircular coccoliths (9-15~m), made of two thick superimposed
shields.
The distal one, which isstrongly convex, is composed of two cycles, the outer one. with some 30-40
imbricated elements, the inner with short radial elements irregularlyarranged.
The central area is subelliptical to elliptical, sometimes
obstructed by irregular coarse elements. The proximal shield is somewhat
smaller and the central area is sometimes blocked by radial elements. In
light microscope between crossed nicols, this species is easily recognizedby its high birefringence colours and the well marked, relatively smalland elongated central area, showing two curved slit-like lines, alignedwith the long axis of the ellipse.
This form shows features rather
similar to those of W. barnesae, which is however much smaller andthinner (Pl. 1, Fig. 14)-.
Remarks: great confusion exists in the literature concerning thesystematic position of coccoliths of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous age,which match the above description and different names have been used (seesynonymy).
Large circular coccoliths from the Middle Valanginian of Carnes,
France have been described as Coccolithus deflandrei by Manivit (1966).
newcombination,i.e.
CyclagelosphaeraRoth(1973)
proposed a
deflandrei (Manivit), for similar coccoliths recorded in the DSDP Leg
INA Newsletter vol.9- 1987
110

17, Site 167 (core 73 down to 94) of Late T~thonian-Hauterivian age.
Bukry (1973), who worked on the same site, mentioned abundant "large
coccoliths" in core 94 (Tithonian or Berriasian) and related them to thegenus ''Watznaueria'' (probably because of their elongated shape). He
proposed the name W. manivitae "as asubstitutefor Coccolithus
deflandrei" since the name W. deflandrei wasalready occupied byanother, very small form, ;:e. Actinosphaera deflandrei Noel 1965 =Watznaueria deflandrei (Noel) Reinhardt 1971.
Unfortunately, Bukry
W. manivitae was,(1973) did not figure or describe his specimens.
however, later reported from Leg 27, Site 261 (Late Jurassic-EarlyCretaceous) by Bukry (1974) and Proto Decima (1974), who worked on thesame material, described and figured it as "W. manivitae (Coccolithusdeflandrei auct").
The present authors obtained material from the sameLeg (Site 261) and could observe in cores 32-2 and 32-4 large subcircularspecimens together with subelliptical-elliptical ones (Pl. 1, Figs. 1-4;6-7). These specimens are identical with the forms found in the Upper
Jurassic sediments of Israel and adjacent areas in various localities (e.g.
Pl. 1, Figs. 8-11).
Examination of well-dated samples from England, has shown that W.
manivitae occurs, although rarely, in the Upper part of the Callovian(Peltoceras athleta zone) and in the Lower Oxfordian (Pl. 1, Fig. 5).
Thierstein (1976), who has figured a specimen (Pl. 2, Figs. 20-21) fromthe lower Oxfordian (Quenstedtoceras
mariae zone) in England, hasrelated it to Cyclagelosphaera deflandrei in spite of its subellipticalshape and elliptical central area.
Roth (1983) who described thecalcareous nannofossils from the West Atlantic (Site 534A), figured (Pl.
2, Figs. 1-2) a large specimen from core 110 cc (a level regarded by him
as of latest Oxfordian to earliest Kimmeridgian in age). This specimen
with subcircular shape and elliptical central area, which was related byhim to C. deflandrei (non C. cuvillieri vide p. 608) bears a great
resemblance to other Oxfordian-specimens (c~hierstein, 1976).
Comparing the reported Jurassic descriptions with the generotypesof Watznaueria (~ barnesae)
andCyclagelosphaera(~ margereli)
it
seems
that
mostareclosertoWatznaueriabytheirelliptical-subelliptical shape, especially when considering their central
elliptial part; this part in various Cyclagelosphaera species (e.g. ~margereli,~ rotaclypeata or C.
reinhardtii) is clearly circular(Pl. 1, Figs. 12-13).
It is therefore suggested that the name ~ manivitae Bukry by used
and to regard as a neotype (since a holotype was not designated by theauthor from the original locality) the specimen presented hereby in Pl. 1,Figs. 1-3 (given both in LM and in the SEM) from the Eastern Indian Ocean,
Leg 27, Site 261, core 32-4, 90-91 cm (Upper Jurassic).
Stratigraphical notes and listed distributionThesystematicconfusion
has led to contradictory conclusions
concerning the stratigraphic range of these large nannofossils. Ourobervations and review of the described forms in the literature have shownthat whereas large subelliptical to elliptical forms (which seem to berelated
to Watznaueria) are present in the Upper Jurassic (Upper
Callovian-Berriasian)thecirculartosubcircularones(Cyclagelosphaera?).
aremostlydistributedfromthe?Kimmeridgian-Tithotian and upwards. Although Thierstein (1976) assigns a
Callovian to Hauterivian range to C. deflandrei, he agrees that thesubelliptical forms start in the Middle-Upper Callovian, whereas thecircular forms appear later, in the Kimmeridgian-Tithonian (personalcommunication, 1978).
Forms which were related to the W. manivitae-C. deflandrei group
INA Newsletter vol.9- 1987111

are found rather commonly in the Paleotethyan Provinces (including theAtlantic, Mediterranean, Indian and Pacific Oceans) where they seem mainly
abundant in the eastern parts, however, similar forms were also found in
more northern areas (e.g. England).
Reports concerning distribution in various stratigraphical levels andwhich seem to be relevant to the above discussion are as follows:
Upper Callovian: England - within the Peltoceras athleta zone,
adhered to Eboraciceras cadiforme. Israel - NE Negev, within an intervalwith
Peltoceras
aff.
antiguum,
Pachyceras lalandeanum and other
Upper Callovian ammonites (l•loshkovitz and Ehrlich, 1981).
?Callovian-Oxfordian: Eastern Indian Ocean-DSOP, Leg 27, Site 261,
core 30 (Bukry, 1974). Proto Decima (1974) recorded from the same site W.
manivitae in levels regarded by her as Oxfordian to Hauterivian in age. -Callovian-Berriasian: Northwest Atlantic Ocean-DSDP, Leg 76, Site
534. Roth (1983) who investigated the nannofossils in this area figured
his specimen from core 110 cc which he regarded as of latest Oxfordian toearliest Kimmeridgian in age.
Lower Oxfordian: England - within the uenstedtoceras mariae zone
(Thierstein, 1976; Moshkovitz and Ehrlich, 1981 •Israel and adjacentareas (Moshkovitz and Ehrlich, 1976; 1981).
Tithonian-Berriasian: Central Pacific Ocean-DSDP, Leg 17, Site 167,core 94 (Bukry, 1973, p. 877).
From the same site Roth (1973, p. 723)
records large coccoliths and relates them to the Tithonian-Hauterivian.
MiddleValanginian:FranceCarnes.
The large coccoliths
described by Manivit (1966) as Coccolithus deflandrei and renamed as
Cyclagelosphaera deflandrei (Manivit) Roth 1973, are clearly circularboth in outer shape and central area.

ACKNOWLEDGOIENTSThe authors would like to thank Dr A. R. Lord, University College London,for his critical reading of the manuscript.

INA Newsletter vol.9- 1987112

REFERENCESBUKRY, D., 1973- Phytoplankton stratigraphy, central Pacific Ocean, DSDP
Leg 17. lnit. ~ Deep Sea Drill. Proj. ed by Winterer, E. J. etal., vol. 17, Washington, pp. 871-889.
BUKRY.~. 1974- Coccolith stratigraphy offshore West Australia, DSDP Leg
27.
lnit. ~Deep Sea Drill· Proj., ed. by Veevers, J. J. etal., vol. 27, Washington, pp. 623-630.
MANIVIT, H., 1966 -Sur quelques coccolithes nouveaux du Neocomien. Soc.
Geol. Fr. C. R., vol. 15, pp. 222-223.
-MOSHKOVITZ,-s:,-an~EHRLICH, A., 1976- Distribution of Middle and Upper
Jurassic calcareous nannofossils in the northeastern Negev, Israel andGebel Maghara, northern Sinai. Isr. Geol. Surv. Bull. 69, 48 p.
MOSHKOVITZ, S.,
and EHRLICH, A.,--r981 - Late Jurassic calcareous
nannofossils in Israel's offshore and onland areas. Isr. Geol. Surv.
-" Curr. Res. ( 1980), pp. 65-72.
NOEL, D., 1965 - Sur les Coccoliths Jurassique Europeen et d'Afrique duNord. Edition ~CNRS Paris, 209 p.
PROTO DECIMA, F., 1974- Leg 27 calcareous nannoplankton.
Init. Rep.
Deep Sea Drill. Proj. ed. by Veevers, J. J., et al., vol. 27,
Washington, pp. 589-621.
REINHARDT, P., 1971 - Synopsis der Gattungen und Arten der Mesozoischen
und andererkalkiger
Nannofossilien
I,11, Ill.
Coccolithen
Freiberger Forschungsh. C. 260, 5-32; C. 265, 41-111; C. 267,19-41.
ROTH, P. H., 1973- Calcareous nannofossils- Leg 17, DSDP.
lnit. Rep.
Deep Sea Drill. Proj., ed. by Winterer, E. J. et al., vol. 17,
Washington, pp. 695-795.
ROTH, P. H., 1983- Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous calcareous nannofossils
inthe western
North Atlantic (Site 534): Biostratigraphy,preservation
andsomeobservations
onbiogeography andpaleoceanography.
lnit.
Rep. Deep Sea Drill. Proj., ed. bySheridan, R. E., et al., vol. 76, Washington, pp. 587-621.
THIERSTEIN,H.
R.,-- 1976
Mesozoic calcareous
nannoplankton
biostratigraphy of marine sediments. Marine Micropaleontol., vol.
1, pp. 325-362.
WORSLEY, T. R., 1971 - Calcareous nannofossil zonation of Jurassic andLower Cretaceous sediments from the Western Atlantic.
In: A.
Farinacci (ed.), Proceedings l! Planktonic Conference Roma--,1970.
pp. 1301-22. Edizioni Tecnoscienza.

INA Newsletter vol.9- 19B7113

PLATE 1Figures
12,34
56,78,910,11121314

Watznaueria manivitae Bukry, proximal side.
OSOP leg 27, Site261, Core 32-4, 90-91 cm, Upper Jurassic. SEM x 4500.
Watznaueria manivitae Bukry, LM (Fig. 2. ordinary light; Fig.
3, polarized light). Same specimen as in Fig. 1. x 3000.
Watznaueria manivitae Bukry, distal side. Same locality andsample as Fig. 1. SEM x 4000.
Watznaueria manivitae Bukry,proximalside.
Warboys,
Huntingdonshire, England.
C. cordatum? zone, lower Oxfordian
BK 29; LFS 1938, Geol. Mus. London, GSI N-4918. SEM x 4250.
Watznaueria manivitae Bukry, LM (Fig. 6, ordinary light; Fig.
7, polarized light). OSDP, same locality and sample as in Fig.
1. X 3000.
Watznaueria manivitae Bukry, LM.
(Fig. 8, ordinary light,Fig. 9, polarized light), Oelta-1 well, Israel offshore, depth
4366 m, Upper Callovian-Oxfordian. GSI. N-958. x 3500.
(Fig. 10, ordinary light,Watznaueria manivitae Bukry, LM.
Fig.
11, polarized light).
Gan Yavneh-3 well,central·coastal plain, Israel, depth 2541 m. Upper Callovian-Oxfordian.
GSI-N. 3162. X 3500.
Cyclagelosphaera margereli Noel, distal side.
Mount Hermon,
Upper Callovian-Oxfordian, GSI-N. 4066. SEM x 8000.
Cyclagelosphaera margereli Noel, LM (polarized light). Samelocality and sample as in Fig. 12. x 3000.
Watznaueria barnesae (Bl~ck) Perch-Nielsen, LM (polarizedlight).
Delta-1
well,Israel offshore,
depth 4270 m,
Upper Callovian-Oxfordian. GSI-N. 956. x 3000.

INA Newsletter vol.9- 1987114

13

Plate 1